ORLANDO, Fla. — The new Florida law dubbed “don’t say gay” by its critics kicked in Friday, banning instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in primary grades — and creating fears that all topics related to LGBTQ people are off limits in public schools.
State leaders dismiss those complaints, saying the law, officially known as the Parental Rights in Education act, or HB 1557, has been the subject of “fear mongering” and does not attack gay or transgender students, employees or parents.
The law’s goal is to limit instruction on those topics in the earliest grades, leaving that up to parents, and to make sure such lessons are “age appropriate” in older grades.
